baron
[ bar-uh n ]
/ ˈbær ən /
|
noun
a member of the lowest grade of nobility.
(in Britain)
- a feudal vassal holding his lands under a direct grant from the king.
- a direct descendant of such a vassal or his equal in the nobility.
- a member of the House of Lords.
an important financier or industrialist, especially one with great power in a particular area: an oil baron.
a cut of mutton or lamb comprising the two loins, or saddle, and the hind legs.
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Nearby words
- barometric,
- barometric error,
- barometric pressure,
- barometrograph,
- barometry,
- baron of beef,
- baron, michel,
- baron-cohen,
- baronage,
- baroness
Compare baron of beef.
Origin of baron
1200–50; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French < Late Latin barōn- (stemof barō) man < Germanic; sense “cut of beef” perhaps by analogy with the fanciful analysis of sirloin as “Sir Loin”
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for barons
baron
/ (ˈbærən) /
noun
a member of a specific rank of nobility, esp the lowest rank in the British Isles
(in Europe from the Middle Ages) originally any tenant-in-chief of a king or other overlord, who held land from his superior by honourable service; a land-holding nobleman
a powerful businessman or financiera press baron
English law (formerly) the title held by judges of the Court of Exchequer
short for baron of beef
Word Origin for baron
C12: from Old French, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German baro freeman, Old Norse berjask to fight
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
baron
c.1200, from Old French baron (nominative ber) "baron, nobleman, military leader, warrior, virtuous man, lord, husband," probably from or related to Late Latin baro "man," of uncertain origin, perhaps from Frankish *baro "freeman, man;" merged in England with cognate Old English beorn "nobleman."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper